


and here, somehow

by braigwen_s



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Homework, Look At This Cute Family, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-21 12:21:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17043641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/braigwen_s/pseuds/braigwen_s
Summary: Mako drops more-or-less daughter off at her more-or-less grandparents' for the day.  This is mostly beneficial, but does have ... a few consequences.





	and here, somehow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [angstlairde](https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstlairde/gifts).
  * Inspired by [i'll be holding on to you](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16513640) by [angstlairde](https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstlairde/pseuds/angstlairde). 



“Grandma?” said a gentle voice, and Lin opened her eyes; it was Irah, Mako’s more-or-less-daughter, thirteen years old and with brilliant gemstone-green eyes. She was dressed in an old sage tunic that was probably Opal’s at some stage, and a far-too-big blue winter vest that she recognised as her wife Kya’s.

That’s right – she’d agreed to watch her for the day, probably unwisely, because Mako had been so pitiful, like a bedraggled hamster-cat. That was responsible for the safety of Republic City. Ah well, Saikhan would probably stop him from exploding too many things, and Zhu Li was … lacking some of Raiko’s more cruel tendencies.

“Hey, Kid,” she said.

“Grandma? Gran-gran’s gossiping with Auntie Korra at her house, she said to wake you up at ten.”

She propped herself up on one elbow and looked over at the clock. “It’s ten-thirty.”

“Dad said to wake you up at eleven, so I did it half-way.”

 _Fair enough._ “You’d make a decent politician.”

She wrinkled her nose up, shaking her head and sending her messy hair bouncing. “That’s not a compliment, Grandma.”

She could’ve helped the smile if she’d tried to, but she let it quirk her mouth up anyway. “You catch on quick. Now shoo, I thought you wanted me to get up.”

She laughed and sped into the kitchen, feet cuffing up little hollows in the tiles where her heels dug in, calling “Okay!”

 

It was _cold_ , even in an insulated home with electricity, and Lin, as always, felt for the city’s homeless as she dressed, then pulled on a sweater. It felt … distantly selfish, living for herself and for her wife instead of for the whole Republic, but Kya always told she was being stupid when she brought that up.

“You had breakfast right, kid?” she asked as she entered the kitchen, and Irah nodded, busy slicing bread and putting meat and jam on top.

“Yeah. Making you some!” _Shit._ It shouldn’t have surprised her, she knew she was a thoughtful thing, but – she was so used to only Kya looking out for her, and sometimes Saikhan (and more recently Mako).

“Grandma? You okay? You can have something else if you want to.”

She managed to smile, stepping forwards and wrapping an arm around her granddaughter as she took the plate from her, and started to get the tea going. “It looks great. Thanks, Irah.”

She shrugged happily, pulling over a book of some kind – one of hers, now she saw it, of compiled scripts from Ember Island – and climbing onto a stool near her. “Sure.”

 

They passed the short rest of the morning in companionable silence, reading _Love Amongst The Dragons_ , listening to the last pro-bending results on the radio and Irah showing off the earthbending forms that Bolin taught her. Her seismic sense was getting even better – Lin was sitting in an armchair, reading through stolen police reports, when the kid said “Gran-gran’s coming!”

She leaned forward, planted a foot on the floor – Irah was right, but it was hard to pick from that distance, even for her, her wife of decades and daughter of Toph.

 

“How’s your reading going, sweetie?” asked Kya as she came in, sitting down with a newspaper, and Irah shrugged.

“Kinda okay, I guess.”

“Has Grandma been helping you with your homework?”

 _Shit._ “She forgot about it and read me a story! She did the voices really good!”

Steadfastly ignoring the child, she held her hand out for the newspaper – she always read it first, she liked being informed about what nonsense the press was up to now – but Kya stared over at her, eyebrows raised. She gave in. “C’mon, Irah, let’s get your homework done.”

“Ugh, alright,” she said, clambering back onto the chair, and leaned across the table to drag it over. It was seven sheets of neatly printed paper, with gaps for all of Irah’s answers; she squinted at it for a moment, then threw Irah a pen, which she caught deftly.

“I’m not doing this for you,” she said sternly, and tapped the floor with her toe, encasing Kya’s foot in stone and shutting up her giggles.

“What was that for?” asked Irah, looking genuinely innocent, and she rolled her eyes as she released her. “Gran-gran thinks we’re just here to amuse her. I was .. demonstrating otherwise. Come on, let’s hear the first question.”

“Who was the found .. founder .. of the Republic City Police Force?” _Oh, for –_ “I know this one! Grandma’s mom!”

“No! You are not writing that – Kya, shut up – write – write her name.”

Irah’s tongue poked out of her mouth as she concentrated on forming the kanji – fortunately, for “Toph Beifong” and not “Great-Grandmother”.

She waited until the kid was done, and then: “Next question?”

“Who was the first president of Republic City?” Lin frowned.

“His name was Raiko, but that’s the only time I’ll tolerate such language in my house.”

And like that, the time passed until they’d nearly finished the fourth sheet, at which point Kya took pity and joined them – just in time for the questions about Avatar Aang.

And then, after much groaning and subtle sniping between the older two, they were finished just after two, when Kya declared that it was time to eat.

 

“My dad,” Irah declared with the reckless innocence of any child saying things that they shouldn’t, and Kya started eating her lunch more loudly, “says that seventy-four is way too old to be interf’ring in dangerous stuff.”

“Most people do,” she said, and finished her mug of tea in one go, “and most people are wrong .”

“Lin,” said Kya, and she sighed and got up to refill the teapot.

As she passed her wife she muttered – “You’re seventy-eight, I’m very dangerous, and you interfere in me.” She got a smirk, so she counted it as victory.

“Ugh,” said Irah, picking at her toasted sandwich, “you’re acting like Dad and Iroh again.”

She regretting replenishing the tea so soon, because she was currently choking on it.

“Mother of faces,” said Kya, either laughing or near tears, and steadied her with a hand on each shoulder.

Now _that_ was a revelation.

 

“Hey Mom, hey Kya,” said Mako that evening as he technically broke and entered. He ruffled Irah’s hair as he passed her, then shooed her off to collect her homework, books and toys. “She behave herself for you?”

“Yep,” said Lin, just as Kya said “better than my own wife.” She punched her lightly on the shoulder, half-offended, as Mako rolled his eyes and did a poor job hiding his amusement. Ah well, at least he wasn’t Bumi, who would’ve make a whipcrack noise and made one of at least seven awful puns involving discipline.

“That’s not reassuring, Kya,” he said drily, and she changed her mind about preferring him to Bumi, “your wife’s not exactly a standard of good behaviour. And I can ask Saikhan to attest before the court,” he threatened, before she got her mouth open to contradict him.

She did have one thing going for her, though – “How’s Iroh?” she asked, “he hasn’t dropped in to see me yet this week.” Kya burst out laughing, and Mako went nearly as beetroot-colored as Tenzin upon being teased.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” said Irah dolefully, “that’s my fault.”


End file.
